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To put things into context, an official scanning scheme had already been proposed at an Animal Welfare meeting earlier on in 2008, but it was PDE that brought it home to breeders and the public that there were serious health issues in Cavaliers.

There has been an enormous upsurge in club health testing events since the film,
although you still get some breeders that claim to test when it can be shown to be untrue. A quick look on the Kennel Club health check will show that many of the commercial minded breeders do not test their breeding bitches for eye problems.

And that, of course, is why some breeders, having demanded a standardised official MRI scheme, one that has a panel and an appeal system, are now going to try and derail it on Thursday.

It will not be the extra cost, although that will be their excuse ( after all you just have to look and see what they are willing to pay for stud fees, even for unscanned dogs, and how much they charge for their puppies ). The real objection is that they will no longer be able to pretend they are routinely scanning when it can be demonstrated that it is not true

When this scheme comes in the names of the dogs that are scanned and their results should become available to other breeders and to pet buyers.
At long last openess & honesty to help give Cavaliers a future.

As a postscript, I can tell you that today was not only the anniversary of the SGM. It is 45 years since I married the Wonderful Roger and 18 years since the birth of my beautiful Monty, Ch. Mareve Indiana.
He was my top UK stud dog who first started to scream from SM pain when eleven years old.

Monty is the dog in my avatar. He was my darling, my pet and I miss him still.

Comments

And that, of course, is why some breeders, having demanded a standardised official MRI scheme, one that has a panel and an appeal system, are now going to try and derail it on Thursday.

It will not be the extra cost, although that will be their excuse ( after all you just have to look and see what they are willing to pay for stud fees, even for unscanned dogs, and how much they charge for their puppies ). The real objection is that they will no longer be able to pretend they are routinely scanning when it can be demonstrated that it is not true

I agree -- I have watched the various clubs and many specific club members do this over and over -- they are happy to champion a researcher, a research project, or a health scheme as long as its effects, results or implementation are way off in the vague future or the research will not be into any aspect of a health issue which 1) will need information from their own dogs, especially show adults or 2) potentially reveal the suitability of their dogs to a breeding scheme; or 3) have results with any immediate consequences.

Just look at the Estimated Breeding Values scheme -- everyone wanted such a scheme before what it actually meant sank in. Lots of lip service but breeders themselves in reality have given it minimal support by withholding their scan information (under all sorts of ludicrous excuses and conspiracy theories) and then picking holes in it when there was any suggestion that those who use it might actually need to be told if a given dog was a suitable genetic mate. So while other EBV schemes will go forward, the cavalier breeders' scheme is still on ice due solely to lack of data (not all the fanciful reasons some have invented and circulated, as per usual).

The MRI scheme is just the same -- breeders -- gasp, BREEDERS themselves! -- and from the club! -- were actually involved with this scheme's creation. Now they have all sorts of reasons they can't possibly, possibly support it. They think Someone Else should pay for it (just who? They are the ones who are supposed to be the caretakers of the breed, who breed for trophies and puppy sales -- who else is supposed to pay for a programme that needs the services of experts and gives THEM valuable information?). They debate how it will work. The usual cabal insist no one will go.

Oh, I am sure that is the case. Some never intended to anyway but pretended to get involved to prove that 'breeders care about health'. Shame the club never seems to find the people who are committed to health to get involved with these things -- and instead are determined to vote those people off the committee.

What a badge of honour that SGM has turned out to be, Margaret. :fler: